Trending: Novelty Print Cotton Dresses

It's kind of great, right? I was originally going to make pajamas out of this fabric, but now I'm sorely tempted to make a frock. (The fabric is called "Midnight Snack" by Alexander Henry, if you're interested. A quick search brought up plenty of online vendors.)

If you're into this kind of thing, retro-silhouette dresses in novelty prints seem to be a trend on Modcloth right now. There's the Roadside Attraction dress.

90 comments:

I am all about the novelty prints, and always have been. It's definitely attention dressing, but I can't help but love it. It's a great way to express my fangirlishness in my sewing. I just wondered if I would start making myself simple basics, and the answer is still pretty much, not often.

I like the wild & bold prints like the first two much more than the cutesy ones. I like the contrast and dichotomy between the feminine dress and the in-your-face print. A cutesy print makes the dress seem too juvenile to me.

I LOVE Alexander Henry fabrics, and especially the "Sewing at Home is Easy" print, which I have displayed in embroidery hoops. I think these dresses are a delightful way to bring an interesting element to a simple dress design, and when paired with a sweater or blazer, could (in some offices) be worn to work! Great fun, and I say go for it!

I would have loved these dresses when I was younger - I remember one of the first dresses I made was out of black cotton with birds eggs (and their scientific names) printed on top of it. This was in the early 90s, I lived in South Florida, and I got some very strange looks. But I loved it! I still love a novelty print but now it has to be subtler (and probably not cotton) for me to wear it.

I love the prints, but the drape of these fabrics is usually terrible- too much like quilting cotton and not enough like apparel fabric. Cutting on the bias helps, but only if the print isn't directional. I'll kill for cute prints in voile or something similar.

I love these prints, but I often find that they are just too much on my small frame, so I tend to stick to more moderate traditional and tonal prints. Now, those classic and retro silhouettes... there are certainly a lot of them in my closet.

I agree. I think you need at least a moderate frame to pull off the large print. I am also small, but I think I could make it work if I used one of these fun prints for say a gored or even pencil skirt paired with a solid color top.

Oh, I love making clothes out of quilting garments, if I can find some with the right hand. I usually like to chuck the stiffer ones into a loose fitting sheath with a slight A-line where it doesn't have to drape really well ("It holds the A-line shape!" is what I tell myself, haha). And they're good for blouses where the sleeves are generous enough and can take a stiffer fabric. I say poop on people who turn up their noses at quilting cottons for garment sewing!

I wondered what was going on with this when I saw a few online retro dress shops (other than ModCloth) selling dresses made of print fabrics I already own, my favorite being a Michael Miller print that reminds me of the kitchen counter top in my grandparents' old house. Very atomic age. Yes, it's happening all over. Cute dresses I could make myself for, say, $20, that are being sold online for around $80. People don't realize they could buy three yards of that stuff online for less than $25 and do whatever they want with it. Home sewing is easy and cheap!

I love novelty print dresses especially vintage comic style. I admit to collecting retro inspired comic fabric. There is also another great one called "Dysfunctional Family". It adds that extra element of retro flavor.

I love them! Sadly though at my age (almost 50) I can't see me wearing them. So when you all see that older lady looking at you all in your great dresses....she's not thinking you're all crazy, she's jealous!

I bought the fabric to make the "Martha's Air of Adorable Dress" but haven't got around to making it yet. The fabric is no longer available on the web-site I bought it from. It is made by Robert Kaufman and you can find it on a few web-sites still if you search "Handle With Care Hot Air Balloons."

I hope this isn't too spammy, but you might like my "Fun Fabric" board as it has a lot of novelty prints that would be good for dresses like this:http://www.pinterest.com/flynpurplehippo/fun-fabric/

My best fabric discovery is fabric.com. They always seem to have what I am looking for. They used to have that dinosaur/motel/RV fabric you asked about it, but I couldn't find it now, so, they must have sold out. It is where I bought my "Handle With Care Hot Air Balloons" fabric as well.

Alexander Henry has the best and the most novelty cottons -- he's got a whole line called Hunk fabrics where beautiful, bare-chested men do manly things like: put out fires, go camping, ride horses, etc. It's hilarious. I'm sure the dino print is his or you can find something like it in his catalog. I love his Folklorico/Day of the Dead lines....beautiful and strange!

I love novelty prints like there's no tomorrow, and have quite a few lined up, waiting to be turned into dresses! The only drawback to me is that the line between these and children's clothes can become a bit thin sometimes, and as someone who tends to look a bit 'young' I sometimes have to watch out so it doesn't become childish.

I'm yea on this one! I made a kAthRine Tilton top (Vogue 8748) with the "It's Sew Easy" novelty comic print. It was the perfect pattern to showcase the comic strip. Your kitten dress is cute, love the piping at the waist and hemline solid colour. Tres chic!

I would wear many of these prints, but a few would be a bit much for me. I think it depends on your personality. If the fabric fits your personality it'll work, if not you'll end up not carrying it off so well IMHO. I recently made a hot air balloon fabric skirt and everyone has loved it!

I love them! Some of them can be a bit kooky, but overall I think they're adorable. It's no different than designer brands splashing their logos all over their dresses/handbags/tops, but it is less about advertisement and more fashionable ironically!

I could see wearing one occasionally to add splashes of colour and fun into one's wardrobe. I've make skirts with Echino which has a nice drape with the linen component. I'd say go for it, make the dress but I know you can do a far superior job than modcloth (personally I don't like their quality of workmanship) and perhaps add some creative and unique elements. One doesn't even need to do the whole dress in a print and rather add solid colour components.

I love them. I would only wear one that I have a connection with. So I wouldn't likely wear a lot of them. But, I have a batman skirt that I made in September. I wear it frequently. I've noticed from looking at reflections in a distance it reads as an overall red with a geometric shape on it, not Batman kicking butt!

My family thought I was weird when I insisted on making a Batman skirt, until they saw it done.

I've never met a novelty print I wasn't into. The only sad thing is that I can't wear them to work, so often feel bad for making so many dresses using them! I do find that most of the novelty fabrics I have a pretty good for sewing - a good wash seems to soften them up a bit and while they're not as lovely as say, a Liberty lawn, they're also a heck of a lot cheaper!(I also have the Home Sewing is Easy fabric and can't wait to turn it into something fab)

I'm just not sure I could rock daywear made from novelty prints like these, but I am warming to them as pyjama fabric. My first ever boyfriend used to wear a lot of shirts, lovingly made by his mother, from a variety of novelty prints; he was famous for them!

I would absolutely buy any of these dresses or make one out of the fabric. Quite a few of the things I've made are of novelty prints—they're such fun to work with and the finished product always seems to make (most) people smile!

I love novelty prints! I tend towards the Halloween themed personally but I think a good, bold print is a fantastic addition to a wardrobe! Novelty printed separates are always a good option too if you don't want to commit to a full dress. A few examples can be found on my blog http://cut-a-bitch.blogspot.ca/. Please excuse the crude url.

i would feel totally ridiculous buying a "home sewing is easy" dress. is it supposed to be ironic? when people say "oh how cute, did you make it?" and you have to answer no, and follow that with an awkward silence.

I love them! I have jumped on the novelty print fabrics train this year. It is not normally something I would try, but with doing my dress project this year, I have had so much fun wearing crazy prints. It was definitely outside of my comfort zone but I am glad I tried it!

These novelty prints may not be for me but I have a very cool daughter that I think would love to wear these! Lucky for her I love to sew! I may surprise her with one and see what she thinks!!! Thanks for the inspiration!

I love novelty fabric and always buy them to make Summer dresses. It's fun and I always gets compliments. My favorite is one I made with Alexander Henry Monster fabric ( http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p68/scathach22/craft/IMG_08382.jpg )

I have a shirt made of the same fabric as Roadside attraction. If I was a dress wearer I'd wear that. I don't know where you'd get the exact same print, but quilt shops that are along Rt 66 will have some that are very similar.

Reminds me too much of cheery scrubs in a pediatric hospital. My first reaction is, "But I'm not a nurse!" But then I'm still trying to incorporate more solid colors into my wardrobe that aren't black, indigo denim & Carhartt brown. One step at a time...

I'm all about the novelty prints. I don't know the vendor for the second dress, but a lot of Mod Cloth dresses use Michael Miller fabrics. I love making novelty print dresses and it has never been a question of what other people think -- it's always been about what I think. They are fun to wear and make life much more intersting. Then again, that's just my personality. I have never been one to care if other people find my clothing choices appopriate. I wear what makes me happy. Life is short and if you watch the news, it's very tragic. Best to have a good time and wear what makes you happy! In the bg scheme of things, it's just clothes. Have fun, live life to the fullest -- whatever that means for you, and don't worry about what other people think.

I have this dress -- http://www.modcloth.com/shop/dresses/the-lady-brunch-dress-in-houses -- and I get compliments on it! I had to alter it to fit me properly, of course, but it has princess seams so it was easy to fix. I just wish it was a higher-quality dress. The cotton feels a bit cheap. I bought it because I just could not find a similar print and it would have cost me almost the same to print out similar fabric on Spoonflower. Anyway, I wear it with a bright orange cardigan and lime green 1960s low-heel shoes and I'm very happy with the look. It's funky and bright but not overwhelming. I love novelty prints, but I don't like for them to be very loud. Some of the best ones can be very subtle. I have a 1950s novelty print skirt that has little Victorian lamps and vines all over it. From a distance, it just looks like a nice floral print, but up close, you can see the lamps among the vines.

I like Modcloths styles too, but I've never bought from them (I live in the UK and am not confident the fit would be good enough to justify the money). It never occurred to me that they'd use fabric that was available to buy by the length in regular sewing shops. I've been having fun looking for their prints online - this is the one from your dress (which I love, by the way) - http://www.loomshowroom.com/shop/NEW-Just-In--Check-Out-the-Exciting-New-Arrivals-at-LOOM/p/Atomic-Ranch-Palm-Springs-Eichler-Mid-Century-Houses-Cotton-Fabric-Quit-Fabric-CR383-x657307.htmPerhaps I need to buy some for a skirt or something...Katherine

I have the same problem - I'm in the uk too and modcloth is cute but once you convert the currency and then take into account the VAT at 20% on any import over £15 (and the handling charges on top...it gets tres expensive! I don't know if you know frumble.co.uk but I get a lot of my novelty type prints to recreate the modcloth dresses -they hav ever reasonable postage charges compared to others too

I have been making fun shirts and vests out of stuff like this for a while now. I am a comic book fan and have more than one themed item in my closet. Yes, there are probably a few places I wouldn't wear them, like a funeral but otherwise I love the fabric, I want to wear it.

I've always been a major proponent of dresses with classic silhouettes sewn in fabulous (and fabulously zany) prints. One of my very favorite dresses is this simple sleeve-less, fitted bodice, gathered skirt number that I made from this totally nutty fabric I bought in Ghana, featuring a scene of a little boy up a tree, surrounded by a lion, alligator and snake, with an angel in the sky and the text, "OH! GOD SAVE ME". I knew when I saw it that I simple had to have it: http://valleyhaberdashery.com/blog/13841552/

I say make a dress! But probably your brain has already decided it! I imagine a tight bodice and full gathered skirt dress, but with very thin shoulder straps. In the examples you show, I don't like the wide part of the dresses between the armsythe and neckline. (brr! my English! would it ever be good enough?) I would design 1 cm wide shoulder straps. For this kind of print. Definitely, a summer dress.

You should make a dress with that fabric! I love using quilting cottons for my garments. It depends on the intended structure of the finished garment, of course, but quilting cottons absolutely have a place in garment sewing. I made a few Colette Parfaits in quilting cotton and they look great.

Classic styles lend themselves more to novelty prints, in my opinion - like the dresses you featured. I love them, mainly because I love the style of the dresses. However, I always try to match my skin tone to the colors that I'm wearing. So I guess the style and color matter more to me than the print.

I'm no snob about quilting cotton - it just depends on the garment. I love that kitty cat dress. You pull it off so well, Gertie. I love your blog!

Home Sewing is Easy Fabric? OMG this is genial. In Brazil we have a limited designers that made fabric fun. But thanks to internet, and amazing bloggers like you, I'm discovering a lot of amazing things. Poor credit card!

I love novelty prints, as I don't like to look like everyone else. I had a vintage print with umbrellas on it and I made a cute skirt out of it. I also had a print with Egyptian designs and I also made a skirt out of it. Dresses out of these prints would have overwhelmed me, but the skirts are great and I get lots of compliments. I have a vintage fruit print which I plan to use for a skirt.

I love them! Love them all!!! My daughters and I saw a lady wearing a dress with bold bright comic-book style print at Disneyland. It was retro-Mickey print in full color. We loved her dress so much that we turned and followed her just so we could get a better look and catch up to her to compliment her. It was great! I wish I would have been bold enough to ask her if we could take a photo.

Novelty prints are all I go for when making dresses. I've tried going into a fabric store chanting the mantra, "I will buy appropriate, adult fabric this time" over and over again, but I always feel bored looking at them and end up making a bee line for the novelty prints. The feel and drape of the fabric is not as nice, but for me, it is a small price to pay to make/wear something awesome and different.

I have a dress made from "Home Sewing is Easy" it's a summer favourite. I have to say this stuff about drape is over done when it comes to vintage style dresses with big skirts as they fall really well when the fabric is a bit heavier. I have a proper 50s novelty print skirt made from cotton which is just as thick as the Alexander Henry quilting cotton and it's superb.

Definitely a dress! I love novelty prints and dresses and skirts made from them - one of my most worn skirts is one I made from a jungle theme fabric with all sorts of plants and animals on it. Plus, small children can be entertained endlessly by this skirt looking for the iguana or the monkey or.... :-)

I love the thought of novelty print, but haven't ventured into using any yet. However, I'm heading to the fabric store today and I've thought about buying some fun prints for some basic pencil skirts for work.

I've done a couple novelty print dresses and skirts. I have a dress in the "Knitmare on Elm Street" print, which has skeletons knitting and creepy disgruntled children in ugly sweaters, and one in a Superman comic print. Then there's the robot skirt, which seems to make people think I'm much younger than I actually am. It's fun, though. I like the contrast between being a bit dressed up and the novelty prints.

I have fabric that I had used as a crib-sheet for my son. It's the Michael Miller Bot Camp print. I love it... it's hilarious. I'm just not sure if it will translate to clothing well. I was thinking about trying it with your dirndl skirt directions. What do you think? Here's the fabric (held up in half and pretend gathered) http://nicolemehelich.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/BotCampSkirt.jpg

I LOVE novelty prints - especially when made in dresses. I consider those dresses "stunt dresses" which can be worn for special occasions or specific types of events. I created a dress from a print that looks like old-style circuit boards & wore it to a SQL server professional conference. Of course, sequels to that dress were required since the other attendees expected it. Thus, the Bacon dress and the "Microsoft logo" a la Mondrian dress were born. (Bacon dress was a specific reference to a specific group of people who frequently mentioned bacon during their talks...I just HAD to do it. The Microsoft logo a la Mondrian dress had to be made because Microsoft makes SQL server, so of course I'd have to riff off the company logo somehow.). I also plan to pull off a Twitter reference dress (twitter handles, plus random graphics like the twitter bird and the "fail whale" will be featured), and a few other "stunt" dresses for other things "just because I can"

Oh, and if you're wondering - a few people commented that until I'd pointed out that the bacon dress' fabric was images of bacon that they'd interpreted it as just a cool abstract pattern.

I also have some Star Trek Original series Enterprise fabric & "Samurai girls" fabrics that are begging to become summer dresses for me to wear to work (I work in a tech field) or to other random events.